October 25, 2010 by RVBusiness · Comments Off on Hoosier City Grapples with Identify Dilemma

An effort to create a branding campaign to bring more jobs to a northern Indiana city is drawing fire from residents who fear they’ll lose a slogan that some say is too sweet to let go, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The Goshen Chamber of Commerce wants to develop a community brand that would attract businesses and shoppers and expand the local tax base in an area hit hard by layoffs in the recreational vehicle industry.

City leaders say they’ve been bombarded with complaints from residents who fear the campaign will mean dropping the city’s nickname as “the Maple City.”

“People are not happy,” Goshen City Councilwoman Dixie Robinson said.

Chamber of Commerce President David Daugherty told The Goshen News that the campaign will include about eight months of research, including interviews with residents and visitors. The result will be a branding campaign that includes a logo, color palette and suggestions on how to market the brand.

“This is not about kicking our current nickname or logo to the curb and coming up with something snazzier,” Daugherty said. “This is about figuring out how to position the city in the minds of our consumers so that we are more memorable; so that people choose to invest in our future.”

He said the brand would include the “warm feelings” people have when they refer to Goshen as the Maple City.

Daugherty said “Maple City” or the image of a maple leaf could be included in the new brand if the research shows it’s needed.

He said the bottom line of the campaign is simple: “We’re talking about growing jobs in Goshen.”